Meet the Board

GOVERNOR WILLIAM ENGLISH, CBE

CDir, FIoD, CMgr, FCMI, FRGS and MSc (2)

William is a British citizen (DoB 1962); born in Ashford, Kent, Southeast England. Following a 36-year full career in the British Army 1981-2017 he was honoured with the State Award of Commander British Empire (CBE); Invested in Dec 17 by the former HRH Prince of Wales, now HM King Charles III. On leaving the Army, William put himself through an initial, 7 years of planned business and professional [brewing & distilling] training. He attended the Alliance Manchester Business School, then went on to achieve Chartered Director (CDir) with the Institute of Directors (IoD) and Chartered Manager (CMgr) with the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) in 2018. William was voted the IoD, Director of the Year for Family Business and Highly Commended in Innovation in 2023. In Dec 24 William achieved his Master of Science (Meritorious) in Brewing & Distilling at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, supporting the transition of his family business in Kent. Professionally driven, William is classically educated in strategic and operational planning (military & business). William places Governance [fiduciary duty] above all, embedding purpose led business strategy within the governance space. Anchoring his professional work to the IoD, William is committed to the IoD Code of Conduct for Directors. William’s personal Values are Knowledge; Perseverance; Selflessness; a trained diplomat he is an excellent strategic communicator. William is Partner & Chair of own business, he leads his board in directing and guiding strategic transition towards creation of a brewing estate driven by science and innovation with global ambition. William is Board Adviser (Chair Elect), Produce Plus Ltd, a UK Import / Export company of global sustainable farmed produce (May 24-current). William holds a seat on an American family Board, representing Europe, Delano Kindred Inc. (Sep 20-current). William was appointed Governor & Chair, Society Mayflower Descendants (Europe) Ltd, 05 Sep 26-current. William is married to Frances, they have 3 adult children. In sport he has been an oarsman, mountaineer, horseman and desert explorer (by camel); he has a USMC Martial Arts Programme Blackbelt and is maker of pâte sablée to die for!

Mayflower ancestor: Richard Warren.

Contact: mayflower.smde.governor@gmail.com

DEPUTY GOVERNOR MARK PRIMMER

Mark, born and raised in Maine, and living in Paris, France since 2000, developed a zest for adventure from an early age, travelling widely in the United States, Canada and Iceland thanks to his father’s military flying career.

Following his Mechanical Engineering studies at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mark served as a U.S. Naval Flight Officer operating in the Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the North Arabian Sea. He later served as an Exchange Officer to the UK’s Royal Air Force flying operational missions over the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, and again to the Persian Gulf.

After his military service, Mark pursued an MBA at the University of Michigan, which included studies in Paris and Copenhagen. He has over 30 years experience in both public and private enterprises managing people, budgets, materials, and communications, in multi-national, multi-cultural environments.

Presently, Mark works in Paris as an independent communications consultant and professional photographer specializing in contemporary portraits, headshots and personal branding. He is active in the wider American community and maintains a membership with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, where he has held leadership positions at the local, regional and national levels.

He and his wife Nicole, a lyric soprano and a Senior Official at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are settled indefinitely in Paris, raising two musically talented daughters Ava and Mia.

Mayflower ancestors: Alden, Allerton, Bradford, Brewster, Mullins, Warren, and White.

Contact: mayflower.smde.depgov@gmail.com

SECRETARY DONNA HEYS

I never realised I had Mayflower heritage until I began seriously to work on my family history after my husband John and I had retired to Dorset. I keep extremely busy with my activities and hobbies and apart from family history I enjoy art, running (slowly!), horses and singing. I have been on our WI committee for many years, am part of the local parkrun core team, and have recently joined a choir. I would like to say a heartfelt thanks to my family for helping me get this website project off the ground. You are all absolutely amazing humans, and I love you.

Mayflower ancestors: Allerton, Alden, Billington, Cooke, Hopkins, Mullins, Priest, Soule, Standish, Warren.

Contact: mayflower.smde.secretary@gmail.com

TREASURER GREG GEISSLER

I graduated from Maine Maritime Academy after 3 years in the US Army. I began sailing in the merchant marine, mostly on oil tankers, until the birth of my 3rd child when being away for months was too long. I then found work offshore in the North Sea on Floating Storage Production and Offloading (FPSO) so was only away for weeks and carried on doing this for the next 25 years, finishing up in west Africa off the coast of Equatorial Guinea.

A couple years ago my wife and I decided to change our lifestyle while we could and took semi-retirement. The last couple of summers we worked as Campsite Wardens in the Lake District and in the winter I become Santa Claus for the season at a few venues. In between we will work casual jobs that we enjoy, like being an extra on tv shows. We currently live in Hexham, Northumberland but are keen to downsize and move further south near Newark to be close to our son, whose wife will be giving us our first grandchild later this year. Our other son lives Austin, TX and our daughter is in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

My Mayflower journey began when my British wife’s father passed away. She began digging into her family history wishing, like many of us, that she had asked a lot more questions of relatives before they passed on. She would be searching Ancestry nightly and one night asked to change her subscription to world wide and I would do mine as well. Once I began it wasn’t too long before I found the Mayflower connection, which is something my mother always suspected. However, she never proved or followed up on it so was pleased to have it confirmed before she passed away.

Mayflower ancestor: White

Contact: mayflower.smde.treasurer@gmail.com

HISTORIAN JULIE WILSON

Are you curious about your past, as Mayflower Society members are? Joining the Mayflower Society is an opportunity to discover your family heritage going back 12-15 generations and often reveals unexpected connections to past historical events. The path to membership involves proving a long lineage which is challenging and time-consuming. As Historian I am here to provide guidance and support through the membership process, work with you as you piece together your lineage and locate the necessary documents for your application. I enjoy working through the genealogical puzzle and getting to know you along the way! A native of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, my studies in Physics and employment in the computer industry took me from the US east coast to the west coast and to the UK. I’ve now resided in the Netherlands for 30 years.

Hobbies: genealogy, flute, gardening. Languages: English, Dutch

Mayflower ancestors: Alden, Brewster, Brown, Doty, Howland, Mullins, Samson, Soule, Tilley

Contact: mayflower.smde.historian@gmail.com

MEMBER-AT-LARGE NANCY NARO

I am a retired historian of Latin American History, having conducted research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I was a university professor before moving to London in 1996.

I became involved with GSMD when asked if I would be interested in starting a chapter that would include GSMD members who were resident in Europe. The society chapter, Society of Mayflower Descendants in the UK and Europe was granted its charter in 2016 with twenty signatories who were residents in the UK, France, Portugal, Ireland and Italy, including enthusiastic GSMD members who were living Stateside.Over the next few years, the fledgling society benefitted from the growing transatlantic interest in the Mayflower voyage of 1620 as private and governmental organisations in the US, the UK and the Netherlands organised glittering Four Hundred Year commemorative events. Many local sites in the US, UK and the Netherlands continue to attract visitors and Mayflower descendants to the locales, churches and museums that enrich and enliven the Mayflower experience.

Membership in the Society has expanded to 60 plus and the new website and zoom connections promise to broaden an already dynamic outreach agenda of lectures, gatherings and visits.

Contact: mayflower.smde.MAL@gmail.com